The BBC came under fire last night for selecting a left-wing Eurovision contestant to represent Britain who hates Boris Johnson and said they shouldn’t have given him a hospital bed when he had covid.
Mae Muller, 25, will perform in Liverpool next month despite previously declaring “I hate this country” amid a dispute over free school meals and nurses’ pay.
He has also launched foul-mouthed tirades against the former prime minister and the Conservative Party, as well as calling on his supporters to vote for Jeremy Corbyn.
His selection has sparked a new dispute with the BBC and risks angering the Ukrainians, for whom the UK is hosting the competition this year.
Johnson is a “great friend” of kyiv for its unwavering support against the Russian invaders, while the country takes a dim view of Corbyn because he has called on the West to stop arming them.
Mae Muller, 25, will perform in Liverpool next month despite previously declaring “I hate this country” amid a dispute over free school meals and nurses’ pay.
He has also launched foul-mouthed tirades against the former prime minister and the Conservative Party, as well as calling on his supporters to vote for Jeremy Corbyn. His selection has sparked a new dispute with the BBC and risks angering the Ukrainians for whom the UK is hosting the competition this year.
Boris Johnson filmed himself in self-isolation on April 3, 2020, just days before he was taken to hospital.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said electing Ms Muller makes the corporation look “characteristically dumb” after the Gary Lineker spat and that she is “totally unsuitable”.
He added: ‘Your comments about Boris Johnson are just disgusting. I can’t think one would want to see someone like that representing the UK.’
Ukrainian anti-disinformation activist Olga Matveieva described the election as “a kick in the teeth for Ukrainians” who won the contest last year and should host it.
It’s not too late to choose someone more suitable
She said: “We could forgive their ignorance, but how did one of our most treasured allies select someone with such misguided views to represent them in what should be our Eurovision?”
His countrymen “have nothing but the utmost respect” for Johnson, he added.
BBC bosses selected Ms Muller with management company TaP Music, having stopped leaving the shortlist up to the public vote in 2019.
The association was successful last year after choosing Sam Ryder, who was runner-up to the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra.
The Sunday Telegraph uncovered a series of highly political tirades on social media by the singer.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said electing Ms Muller makes the corporation look “characteristically dumb” after the Gary Lineker spat and that she is “totally unsuitable”.
As Johnson remained in intensive care for a third day at St Thomas’ Hospital (pictured) in London on April 8, 2020, Muller tweeted: “Unpopular opinion, but I don’t feel sorry for Boris Johnson.” “Yes, he is human, yes, he has children, but also hundreds of people who have died because of conservative policies.”
As Johnson remained in intensive care for a third day at London’s St Thomas Hospital on April 8, 2020, Muller tweeted: “Unpopular opinion, but I don’t feel sorry for Boris Johnson.”
“Yes, he is human, yes, he has children, but also hundreds of other people who have died due to conservative policies.
‘Occupying an intensive care bed but not on a ventilator and in ‘good spirits’? Not mate.
He also backed Labor when Corbyn led the party in the 2019 general election, tweeting “fuck the tories”.
Ms Muller wrote: ‘Please register to vote today! And when you vote, please vote Labour! We have the power to take down these racist elitists, so let’s do it!’ She also wrote ‘f*** Boris’ when he won the election.
Last night there was disappointment for his selection. Conservative MP Sir John Hayes said: “Nobody who hates the UK should represent the UK in international competition.” To do so would be very hypocritical.
“It is not too late for the BBC to choose someone better suited and more talented.” Mr Rees-Mogg added: “It’s strange to think why he would want to represent his country, which he dislikes so much.”
What she said makes her completely inadequate. It also makes the BBC look characteristically goofy.
He said that after the Lineker dispute, when he criticized official policy on immigrants, “they could have elected someone who was not a politician.”
Rees-Mogg said his selection was “not the way to get friendly nations, particularly Ukraine, to vote for our candidate.”
Ukrainian Peter Zalmayev, director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative, said: ‘To say someone doesn’t deserve a hospital bed?
“Ukrainians have beds even for Russians, so to hear that about Mr. Johnson, a great friend of Ukraine, is sad.”
Ms Muller’s Eurovision entry, called I Wrote A Song, is in the UK Top 40. A representative for her and TaP Music did not respond to a request for comment. The BBC declined to comment.